The proposed merger of the two dioceses has been prompted by factors such as aging and fewer priests, a decline in baptisms and first Communions, as well as the diocese seeing a decreasing number of Catholics.
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (CNS) A proposed merger between the Diocese of Steubenville and the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, will undergo further discussions on the diocesan level after a survey of parishioners showed disappointment and even fear over the proposal, said Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton.
He made the comments in a Nov. 7 letter to the priests of his diocese.
It was scheduled to be discussed and voted on by the U.S. bishops during their Nov. 14-17 general assembly in Baltimore,
Ohio s six Roman Catholic bishops want people to return to Mass.
The church leaders this week issued a letter canceling a special dispensation that allowed people to skip Masses on Saturdays, Sundays, and on Holy Days of Obligation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The return to regular attendance goes into effect the weekend of June 5-6.
In the letter, the bishops said people who have serious health concerns still are permitted to stay home, but noted that broadcasts of Masses are not substitutes for in-person worship for others. Instead, they are intended for the sick, home-bound, the imprisoned, etc., who are unable to attend Mass in person, they wrote.